Haha no I live in the US right now but my plan was to bring it back to France when I go back but it doesnt look like its gona happen.
They dropped the pan showed me: there is a lot of black powder thing mixed in the fluid that stacked around the bump that there is in the pan ... Not looking good. They didnt want to change the fluid because with clean thinner fluid Id feel the problem way more they said. This is not what I wanted to see ...
Ok so now I've seen some pictures of "bad looking" oil pans on the web, mine is definitely really really bad, the fluid looks like engine oil almost, it's brown ...
Automatic transmissions tend to self destruct when a problem begins. They will start slipping or acting poorly on a certain shift which causes slip... which makes LOTS of heat. The heat then makes the issue worse and causes wear at other parts. If the issue can be identified and fixed very early, occasionally a rebuild isn't required, but like shop stated, this transmission needs a rebuild.
I will say what the shop said about changing the fluid is correct... new fluid can cause the issue to get worse due to the fresh detergents loosening whatever you have in the trans.
I am sure that isn't what you wanted to hear, but a rebuild will be required to use that transmission. Another option would be to install a used transmission. Be aware that a lot of shops won't install a used transmission because they don't want their name associated with the unknown parts. If you have the experience and tools, you could swap the transmissions yourself, but I am guessing this isn't the case.
Thanks Brian, and you're right I don't have anything to do that myself, but I have some friends who might. definitely bad news for sure especially considering that it's been going for several months and I didn't do anything. Can only blame myself. Thanks a lot guys.
I've recently got a quote from a friend of mine up here to build my transmission. To build it to a 650 rwhp level, it was gonna be $500 in parts and fluid, around $400 to actually rebuild, and $200 to drop and reinstall the tranny (if I remember correctly). So $1100 out the door. Granted, this is by a friend and fellow car-enthusiast, so I feel like it might be a couple hundred more if it was just a standard repair for someone he didn't know.
From start to finish, parts and labor, I don't feel like $1500 is that terribly far off.